Bricks & Minifigs Lego shop to open Saturday in Crest Hill

CREST HILL – The grand opening isn’t until Saturday, but about 100 people of all ages had stopped into Bricks & Minifigs of Joliet by 2:30 p.m. New Year’s Day.

“We’ve had about 30 people an hour, and a handful who’ve been here over three hours,” co-founder Ryan Linsner said.

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Bricks &amp; Minifigs is a Lego resale franchise that began about seven years, Linsner said. Stores buy and trade all Lego products. Store selections might include individual minifigures, bulk bricks, components and accessories, according to its website.

The Joliet store is one of 37 locations in the country, and the only one in Illinois, Linsner said. Its grand opening is Saturday.

Features of the grand opening will include limited edition custom “minifigs” for the first 150 people in line, numerous items on sale, free giveaways and maybe impromptu Lego races, a news release from the store said.

But that didn’t keep some people from braving the sub-zero temperatures Monday to check it out.

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“We have a dump table, where customers can fill any size container they wish to fill for a certain price,” Linsner said. “There’s eight different tables they go can through and pick up the parts they want.”

Bricks &amp; Minifigs also has a table for the minifigs, the little Lego people that often accompany sets. People can assemble a figure for $4 or three figures for $10, Linsner said.

Linsner, who has loved Legos all of his life, said he brings 20 years of retail experience to the store.

“Since I was 16, I’ve been a manager at different locations, including Menards, Panera and even Victoria’s Secret,” Linsner said. “I was recently employed with AutoZone.”

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Linsner said he discussed the idea of owning a Bricks &amp; Minifigs franchise with his wife, Sarah Linsner, who is the store’s co-owner. Together with their sons – Christopher, 7; Nicholas, 4; and Michael, 1 – they checked out a Wisconsin store, where Ryan and Sarah asked plenty of questions, Ryan Linsner said.

The great thing about Legos is not only its all-age appeal, but that it’s an appeal that seems to last. Ryan Linsner said most kids only play an average video game for 12 to 20 hours. But with Lego kits, it’s possible to ditch the instruction and “turn it into something unique and different.”

“Legos has a much longer lifespan,” Ryan Linsner said. “And the pieces last 50 to
60 years.”

Ryan Linsner envisions a store where kids will feel free to hang out and explore. He’d also like to get some pinewood derby-style Lego car races going.

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Bricks &amp; Minifigs will book birthday parties and plan a variety of monthly workshops. Ryan Linsner hopes to offer the first workshop in February, although the owners have not yet set a date.

But Ryan Linsner is anticipating topics on robotics and coding, especially with Lego robotic kits available.

“Legos is not only for learning and creating,” he said, “but engineering.”

In addition, Ryan said Sarah Linsner suggested workshops to explain the benefits of Legos to people with autism or Alzheimer’s. Working with textures and visualizing the colors may be helpful to them, Ryan Linsner said.

“And Legos has over 65 different colors,” he said.

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KNOW MORE

A 90-minute Lego-themed birthday party at Bricks &amp; Minifigs includes:

• Bulk Lego and base plates for children to build together during the party.

• A party host for the duration of the event.

• Each child gets to build two figures from the “build your own table” to take home.